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The Black Fleet
Origins The Black Fleet bears its name for the coloration of its flag ship; the black paint is far from simple or plain. While crafted to be elegant, the coloration also bears the enhancements of magic to keep it unseen as it drifts upon the waters in the dead of night. With the frequency of trade out of the city of Ravensport, Lord Greene faced the dangers of passing through the South Seas. This lead to the gradual development of a fleet that served the initial purpose of protecting merchant ships of the Vesalius and later extended to offering escorts for any allied companies or those affiliated with the Alliance through the dangerous waters. The Emerald Raven The brilliant frigate sits straight and tall in the water, the towering masts created from the tallest Gilnean pines and painted black, a stark contrast to the bright blue tropical sky. Black cloth sails cling to the yardarms, rolled tightly with a strangely colored rope. One of the most striking things about the ship is the oddly colored rigging that hangs from the ship’s sailing frame, an odd grayish blue instead of the normal color of rope. Below the masts and the sails sits the hull of the ship itself. It does not look like any other class of ship one might’ve seen in their lives. The hull too is painted black, with silver accents lining the railings, support beams, and rigging tackles. Something seems somewhat off about the ship itself at first glance... after study, it would appear the ship’s position in the water constantly shifts, twisting and writhing. It is an oddly disorienting sight, one that might make a person dizzy if they stare too long. The distortion of the ship’s hull is nearly imperceptible as one draws closer, but it gets worse the farther away the viewer is, perhaps indicating that this strange occurrence has a purpose rather than being a simple trick of the eye. It would be very difficult to focus in on the ship itself from a distance, meaning that enemy gunners would have a very hard time aiming properly. Any individuals sensitive to magic can sense that the origin of this illusion is in fact the midnight black paint itself, rather than any enchantment put on the ship. The paint is imbued with some sort of void magic. It is either -very- expensive to come by or very difficult to manufacture, either way it makes the ship incredibly unique. Hidden from sight by the distance and the distortion is the absolutely elegant architecture of the ship’s hull itself. Every single inch of every handrail, all of the interior walls, and such are engraved and hand-carved with beautiful detail. Some of the things seem to make no sense, and there is no logical order to the engravings. Pictures of a lion’s head, odd buildings, crests, even what appears to be a bathtub. But the most prominent symbolism is that of a raven. One couldn’t walk more than ten feet without seeing one somewhere on the ship, whether they are the endcaps of handrails, or lantern hooks on the masts, or engraved into the wood itself. In fact, a life-sized replica of a raven sits on the wooden post that holds the helm, staring out over the deck of the ship like some sort of all-seeing taskmaster. The back of the ship is as elaborately decorated as the deck, with the captain’s cabin being the largest room on the ship as is customary. The captain has his own little deck on the back of his cabin. The glass that separates the cabin from the rear deck is heavily enchanted, and is a matte-black color that looks as if it too is painted over, but the enchantments might suggest that they are either two-way, or perhaps they could change their opacity. Just below the captain’s cabin on a hand-carved black ribbon, the words “The Emerald Raven” are scrawled in brilliant script. All in all, the ship is a gorgeous work of art, and one that obviously has a lot of love and hard work put into it. The flagship's cannons were a notable feature in and of themselves, crafted of iron and plated in brilliant silver they each bear unique engravings. No two cannons are the same, though there are sixty-six of them, and each glimmers like a piece of art rather than a deadly weapon. Despite this, there is no doubt they pack a formidable punch.